The narrator, a twin sister and survivor of Auschwitz, recounts her experience of being separated from her family and undergoing inhumane experiments at the hands of Nazi doctor Josef Mengele. She describes the trauma and suffering she and her sister endured, including the effects of unknown injections that left her sister with lifelong health issues. After her sister's death, the narrator sought to confront a Nazi doctor who had worked at Auschwitz, but instead of seeking revenge, she decided to write a letter of forgiveness. This act of forgiveness was a transformative experience that gave her a sense of power and liberation. Despite being denounced by other survivors, the narrator believes that forgiveness is an act of self-healing and empowerment that can help victims of trauma and hurt.
Here are the key facts from the text:
1. The speaker was born in 1934 in a small village in Transylvania, Romania.
2. She was one of a pair of twins, and her twin sister's name is Miriam.
3. The twins were sent to Auschwitz during World War II.
4. At Auschwitz, the twins were subjected to experiments by Nazi doctor Josef Mengele.
5. The speaker and her twin sister were separated from their family upon arrival at Auschwitz.
6. The speaker's father and two older sisters were taken away and never seen again.
7. The twins were measured and compared to each other as part of Mengele's experiments.
8. The speaker was taken to a blood lab where she was given injections and had blood drawn.
9. The speaker became very ill after one of the injections and was taken to the hospital.
10. The speaker was diagnosed with a high fever and was told she only had two weeks to live.
11. The speaker survived for two weeks and then began to recover.
12. After the war, the speaker and her twin sister were reunited.
13. The twin sister, Miriam, developed kidney problems later in life due to the experiments she was subjected to.
14. The speaker donated a kidney to Miriam in 1987.
15. Miriam died of cancer in 1993.
16. The speaker met with a Nazi doctor from Auschwitz in 1995 and asked him to sign a document confirming the atrocities that occurred at the camp.
17. The speaker wrote a letter of forgiveness to the Nazi doctor, which took her four months to complete.
18. The speaker met with a former English professor to help her correct the letter.
19. The professor suggested that the speaker's problem was not with the Nazi doctor, but with Josef Mengele.
20. The speaker pretended to forgive Mengele in front of a dictionary and felt a sense of empowerment.
21. The speaker and the Nazi doctor, Dr. Munch, met at Auschwitz with their families in 1995.
22. The speaker read a declaration of amnesty and signed it, feeling free from Auschwitz and Mengele.